UPDATE: So will Mobiata continue to do app development work for companies that are outside the Expedia Inc. family?
Eileen Buesing, a HomeAway spokeswoman, says the company "continues to partner with Mobiata and they will support our iPhone and Android mobile aps for the foreseeable future."
Jeremy Xavier, vice president of marketing at Mobiata, says "we're still sorting out the roadmap now. We're moving forward and still creating the best possible travel apps we can to give our customers the tools they need to travel smartly. That might involve new partners. That might not."
Xavier adds: "As for our existing partnerships, we value those heavily and we'll be working with them in the future to keep offering amazing travel apps. HomeAway has been incredible to work with and we look forward to working with them for the foreseeable future."
One thing Xavier seems certain of is that "the Mobiata brand will remain intact and you'll continue to see apps coming out under the Mobiata name."
In addition to working on third-party apps in the past, Mobiata offers its own FlightTrack and FlightTrack Pro apps.
The original post follows:
HomeAway introduced its free vacation rental search Android app, which was developed by Mobiata, the company Expedia acquired in November.
HomeAway, of course, competes in the vacation rental sector with Expedia's TripAdvisor and FlipKey.
But, this is the travel industry, where such entanglements are common.
Mobiata has been working with HomeAway for some time, having developed HomeAway's iPhone app, which was released in August 2010.
The new Android app has social features, enabling users to bookmark properties and share them via Facebook, Twitter or email.
People searching for vacation rentals using the app can view vacation rental locations on Google Maps, and can search by their proximity to landmarks etc.
There's no booking via the app, but users can contact property owners or managers from their Android device.